BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

53

Since Draco doesn't eat dinner with us, I'm not surprised when I don't see him later. I wait for him in the bedroom that night, and he never comes. Then it is Tuesday. Then it is Wednesday and Ginny takes over even though Ron was supposed to be with us for another day. I suppose that he truly couldn't stomach seeing me anymore because he isn't avoiding Draco. If Draco were around, I'm sure he would. I know that Draco is here though. Occasionally, a bang erupts from the basement where he works on alchemy in the potion room. I hear him walking upstairs. My eyes don't ever see him. When I am doing oil pastels, it makes sense that I would miss him, and I suppose as well when I am working on spells I might be so distracted that him walking past the living room might escape me, but I'm not convinced. He must be apparating around the house to avoid me. I'm sure of it, because on Thursday when I still haven't seen him, I play the cello while poised to look out the hallway. He never walks by, but I hear him upstairs one hour and in the basement the next.

I should have expected he would avoid me. Back in Brighton, I would avoid him when I could break my grip on him. Getting away from him was less like walking and more like an extraction. It seems he does not quite feel the same way.

He must be sleeping somewhere. So, I nap in the afternoon. When I wake up, I lie back down and force myself to sleep again. Since I don't know how to brew the potion that quiets me, I set up the room with a silencing charm so that no one hears me at night. Over the past three days, I have made it through all of the third-year curricula for charms and transfiguration, so the charm is easy enough for me to do. Eventually, I've slept so much that I wonder if I will ever sleep again. It is worth it though because by 2 AM, I am unable to sleep.

I creep around the house. Earlier, I peered around the charms' curriculum for the upper years, and I was lucky to find a spell that revealed the presence of humans, muggles and magical alike. However, because Draco and I are under a concealment charm, I don't think the spell will be successful. I did manage to find an ear on a fleshy string underneath the bed that I've been sleeping in thanks to the charm, which made me feel all sorts of discomfort once I figured out it can listen to things at a distance.

Shrouded by the darkness of the middle of the night,I start by checking the living room on the main floor. He is too clever to sleep in such an exposed area. Then, I move up to the second floor and begin checking the rooms. Knowing which one belongs to Harry and Ginny leaves me with some peace. I also know which bedroom has the portrait of Walburga Black, so I am careful to avoid it. After peering around, even looking in Harry's office, I don't find Draco. I don't suppose that he has gone and made himself invisible.

With a sigh, I make my way up the stairs to the next floor.

Once I am up there, I can see why this is not a place where I ought to be. It is dusty and grimy, and I swear that I can hear something squeaking. A few of the doors are open and I can see trinkets piled high inside. There is only one more floor above us, but I know Kreacher is up there. Draco would not go where he might be seen.

I make my way down the hallway, peeking in some of the rooms. There are all sorts of objects glinting in the moonlight coming through from the open curtains. I sneak down the hallway. If I hadn't thought that it would tip off Harry, I would have asked for his invisibility cloak.

After I pass two rooms full of objects, the next room is shut. Since it could be any number of things behind the door beside Draco, I don't open it. I check the other rooms. One is full of objects too, with the door open. Three doors are shut.

I cast the charm at all three doors, and there is no sign of him. At least, there is no proof he is here. I suppose that I didn't check to see if he has been sleeping in the potion room in the basement. It's no matter, however.